NJ Apprenticeship Bills

TRENTON – Legislators hope a package of bills introduced this week will expand apprenticeship opportunities in high-demand fields by creating the necessary infrastructure.

The bills would provide tax incentives, establish regional programs and provide funding to incentivize participation.

Three of the 10 bills were released from the Senate Labor Committee Monday and head to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee for consideration.

The first bill that advanced provides corporation business tax and gross income tax credits for businesses that participate in Department of Labor registered apprenticeship programs.

The second bill provides tuition fee waiver for apprenticeship courses.

The third bill establishes a three-year youth apprenticeship pilot program in the Department of Education.

Other education bills advanced in the Legislature

TRENTON – Several other pieces of legislation related to education were approved in committees of the state Legislature this Monday.

Among the proposed legislation are two bills that would address the educational rights and needs of deaf students, which advanced to the full Senate for a vote. The first bill would require school districts to recognize the rights of students who are deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind by creating the “Deaf Student’s Bill of Rights.” The second bill would establish a Working Group on Deaf Education in the Department of Education.

Another bill which will head to the full Senate would appropriate $11.3 million in supplemental funds to increase per pupil funding for nonpublic security aid from $75 per student to $150 per student. The funding would come from the general fund and go to the Department of Education for security services, equipment and technology at private schools.

Legislation establishing a pilot program to fund non-traditional STEM programs also advanced. The program would award a matching grants of up to $150,000 each to school districts that support non-traditional STEM teaching methods for students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade, and student participation in non-profit STEM competitions, among other things.

 The bill would establish the four-year “New Jersey Early Innovation Inspiration School Grant Pilot Program” in the Department of Education. The bill now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

The Assembly advances a bill Monday addressing the issue of food insecurity among students of higher education. The bill will create a grant program for institutions that are designated by the Secretary of Higher Education as hunger-free campuses.

https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/education/bill-package-to-expand-apprenticeships-in-new-jersey-education-briefs/article_fbc5d870-5bd7-5e25-8aeb-ef5c4bbb3dd0.html